Her Baby's Bodyguard (23 page)

The Russian government was as grateful to Eva as the Americans. It turned out that Burian had deceived them along with everyone else. They had been completely unaware of the Chameleon Virus program until the Americans had scheduled talks in order to stop it. Burian hadn’t meant to give his weapon to his own country. In his twisted view of fairness, he had planned to sell it to the highest bidder.

The Russian raid on the complex had almost been too late. Burian had been scheduled to meet with a buyer that very night. It was why he had gone to his laboratory—he’d meant to pick up samples of both the virus and the vaccine to take with him. It was also why he’d infected Eva the week before—he’d imagined that would have given him enough time to convince her to share his triumph. In his mind, he believed himself justified in everything he’d done.

If Burian hadn’t been delayed by Jack and Eva, he might have gotten away with it.

It had taken less than an hour for the Russians to provide her with the vaccine that saved her life. She’d never asked how they had persuaded Burian to part with the information. Some things were better left alone. Eva still got chills whenever she thought of how easily the outcome could have been different.

She pulled up her feet beneath the blanket and wrapped her arms around her legs. Then she rested her cheek on her knees as she regarded Jack. He was wearing his dress uniform today. Katya appeared fascinated with the ribbons on his chest. Eva could understand that. In that uniform, Jack looked good enough to stare at all day….

She lifted her head quickly. “The hearing,” she said. “It was supposed to be this morning, wasn’t it?”

He nodded.

“What happened?”

“I was given an official reprimand for assaulting a foreign civilian during my leave.”

“That’s all?”

He grinned. “The major called in some favors. The Russians did, too. Turns out the guys who did the raid were from their Special Forces. They were pretty impressed by how we got there before them and wanted to show me some professional courtesy.”

“Jack, that’s wonderful! Then you’re still with Eagle Squadron.”

“Oh, yeah. They’re stuck with me.”

“I’m so glad. I know how much it means to you.”

He stood, carried Katya to the bassinet at the foot of the bed and laid her on her back. She gurgled, batting at the plastic beads he’d strung across it the day before. He ruffled Katya’s hair and gave the beads a spin before he returned to Eva’s side. “Belonging to Eagle Squadron does mean a lot to me,” he said. “My work has been the most important thing in my life.”

“I understand.”

“But I have to come clean, Eva. I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

He was smiling, so she didn’t think he was going to say something that would upset her. Still, since they’d returned to the States and reality had set in, they hadn’t spoken of much except her health, the mission and its aftermath. She had wanted to wait until she was well again before she pushed him about their relationship. She knew how seriously he took his honor. She didn’t want him staying with her out of duty or pity.

There was no longer any time limit on her future. She was going to recover. She had all the time in the world to make Jack love her.

“Rafe and Flynn send their regards,” he said. “They were at the hearing today.”

“They’re good men. I owe them a lot.”

“You don’t owe them anything. They’re family. It evens out.” He took her hand. “But there’s something else you need to know about them. I told you they’d each gone through the same kind of adrenaline attraction during a mission that you and I did.”

Some of her confidence ebbed. “Yes, I remember. It’s why they left the army.”

“Not exactly. In Rafe’s case, the attraction wasn’t temporary. He ended up marrying a hostage he rescued. That was seven years ago. His wife’s the one who financed his new company.”

“What?”

“She comes from old money. She also owns a few hotels. Flynn got involved with a civilian during another mission. That wasn’t temporary, either. He and Abbie celebrated their fifth anniversary last month. They’re expecting twins next year.”

“Oh.”

“And I told you about Sarah, our former intelligence specialist.”

“You said she quit the team to have children.”

“The father of her children is the man she’d once been assigned to guard.” He twined his fingers with hers. “I didn’t tell you this before because I was scared, Eva. I’d been on my own for so long that I didn’t want to change. But these past few weeks haven’t really changed me. They just showed me what I truly wanted. Not all the feelings that get stirred up during a mission wear off.”

Her heart began to pound. The virus was gone from her body, so she knew the cause wasn’t physical. “No, they don’t. Some of them are too deep to wear off.”

“I know I don’t have a great track record when it comes to relationships. I don’t know anything about babies or raising kids. The missions I’ll be going on will take me away for days at a stretch, sometimes weeks. I can’t understand the kind of work that you do. Hell, I can’t even do my own taxes. I watch too much football, I can’t cook and if I have a few beers I end up snoring all night.”

She laid her hand against his jaw. “You won’t be able to talk me out of loving you, Jack, no matter how hard you try.”

“I’m not trying to talk you out of…” He paused. “What did you say?”

“I love you, Jack.”

He closed his eyes and pressed his lips to her hand. He breathed deeply a few times, as if he’d just run a race. “Damn, and I had a great speech planned.”

She laughed. “Go ahead. I won’t stop you.”

“Okay. I don’t want you and Katya to go to a hotel when you leave here. I want you to come back to Bragg with me. Live with me. Marry me. Let me be a father to your baby. Give her a whole houseful of toys and sisters and brothers to play with.”

“Sisters and brothers?”

He picked up the chair, carried it to the door and angled it beneath the handle to hold it shut. Peeling off his jacket, he returned to the bed.

“Jack? What are you doing?”

“The docs said you’re recovered. You can resume your normal activities.” He toed off his shoes, got on the bed and pulled her into his arms. “I’ve been waiting for weeks to tell you I love you. I think it would be better to show you instead.”

Eva smiled as she sank into Jack’s kiss.

And she knew she was finally home.

ISBN: 978-1-4268-5237-4

HER BABY’S BODYGUARD

Copyright © 2010 by Ingrid Caris

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